Titanfall 2 Single-Player Impressions – Storied Machines

August 11, 2016
Written by Paulmichael Contreras

The original Titanfall released for the Xbox One, and was met with immediate success. The sequel promises to be bigger, better, and will also include a full-fledged single player campaign. Developer Respawn Entertainment held a media event at their studio in Chatsworth, CA last week, and we have our first impressions available for you right now.

Machine With Personalities

In the few snippets we saw of the single-player campaign, the connection that pilots of the mechanized Titans form is explored in much greater detail. You play as Jack Cooper, a grunt in the militia. You’re inexperienced, and while you always dream of becoming a pilot and being given your own Titan, your time has not yet come. Or has it? In the game’s early moments, a Titan is gifted to you by your mentor in a dire situation. This particular Titan is special. Named BT-7274, or “BT” for short, he comes across as this dryly sarcastic AI who is begrudgingly helping you out, only because protocol dictates that he must. The Titans do have a protocol, which is as follows: Link to pilot, uphold the mission and protect the pilot.

The ordering of these objectives was pointed out quite clearly by Respawn Entertainment, and no doubt we’ll see the Titan perform some conflicting actions in the name of the mission. From this list, we can see that the mission is more important than the pilot to the Titan. We’ll see if BT stays with protocol, or breaks it due to his bond with you. Titanfall 2 features branching dialog between you and your Titan, and conversations appear to vary from the mundane stuff about the local environment to your odds of surviving a long assisted throw. Other robots appear to have personality, as well. In one instance, Cooper needed an arc tool in order to proceed. He took one out of a worker robot’s hands, who then looked at his now-empty hands and, lacking purpose, displayed a sad face. It was an unexpected moment of comedy in a game full of drama, which is something Respawn Entertainment said they are peppering in the game.

Prepare for Titanfall

While our hands-on time with Titanfall 2 was mostly centered around the multiplayer (which you’ll hear and see more about very, very soon), it does look like Respawn Entertainment is hell bent on making an enjoyable and unique single player campaign. Be on the lookout for our mutliplayer impressions, videos and even an exclusive interview here on PlayStation LifeStyle in the coming days.